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#Post#: 321--------------------------------------------------
MARY SUES
By: 22639 Date: March 3, 2012, 6:03 pm
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I found this article on the Internet and thought it was worth
sharing.
[center] [font=lesser concern shadow]Mary Sues[/font][/center]
[font=segoe ui]Mary Sue (.n)- (Classic definition) Someone who
defines her self as the most beautiful, most powerful, most
intelligent, most loved in every way, and is more or less
perfect yet somehow manages to be perfectly modest so everyone
loves her and she would do no wrong. This type of character is
the type that does nothing more than attribute to her own
qualities and make posts centered around them and
herself.[/font]
[font=segoe ui]WHY WE DON'T ALLOW MARY SUES:[/font]
[list]
[li][font=segoe ui]Mary Sues slow down the plot.[/font][/li]
[li][font=segoe ui]Mary Sues scare off other potential
players.[/font][/li]
[li][font=segoe ui]Mary Sues tend to post
aimlessly.[/font][/li]
[li][font=segoe ui]Mary Sues glorify themselves.[/font][/li]
[li][font=segoe ui]Mary Sues are extremely
annoying,[/font][/li]
[li][font=segoe ui]Mary Sue posts generally have no
point.[/font][/li]
[li][font=segoe ui]Mary Sues tend to want all the
attention.[/font][/li]
[li][font=segoe ui]Mary Sues seem to have no
weaknesses.[/font][/li]
[li][font=segoe ui]Mary Sues are generally perfect and
therefore boring.[/font][/li]
[li][font=segoe ui]Mary Sues make RPGs slowly and painfully
die![/font][/li]
[/list]
[font=segoe ui]TYPES OF MARY SUES:[/font]
[font=segoe ui]Aside from the "classic" form of Mary Sue,
several other varieties exist. All are equally repugnant. Below
are descriptions of Mary in her various incarnations. Keep in
mind that while characters with flaws and interesting,
well-developed histories and personalities will undoubtedly
resemble these descriptions to a limited extent, what makes a
Mary a Mary is her absolute specialness and uniqueness in regard
to whatever trait is being described... in other words her
"most-ness."[/font]
[font=segoe ui]1. Classic Mary Sue[/font]
[font=segoe ui]This is the first characterization brought to
mind when we think of Mary Sue. This character is often the most
beautiful/handsome, funniest, friendliest, smartest, most
athletic, wealthiest, most psychically/magically gifted, most
beloved, strongest, most heroic, most virtuous, sexiest, and
best dressed character in the entire game. Classic Mary Sue has
no faults, and she makes no mistakes. She can do anything (even
if she's never attempted it before) and end up doing it better
than anyone else. She has a host of abilities that are very
unlikely for someone with her experience or place in life. She
often comes into very superior abilities in the middle of the
game, with no preamble and often even surprised by them herself.
She is extremely insightful and often has trouble distinguishing
between character and player knowledge.[/font]
[font=segoe ui]2. Tragic Mary Sue[/font]
[font=segoe ui]This Mary Sue is subtler, and is the pitfall of
some writers who, in a genuine attempt to avoid the Classic Mary
Sue, have heaped way too many tragedies onto their characters
(she is referred to in some circles as the "Anti-Sue"). The
Tragic Mary Sue is viewed as a pity-beggar, an attention-getter.
She usually comes from a very terrible and lamentable
existence--usually as a slave, an abused servant, a prostitute,
or some other lifestyle most of us couldn't imagine being in. At
every turn of her life, she has met with one ill fortune after
another--from torture, rape, poverty, becoming an orphan, having
the only person who ever loved her murdered... you get the idea.
Sometimes this Mary is hideously ugly or strangely deformed.
Other times, if the author just can't seem to actually let go of
the compulsion to be classic, Tragic Mary Sue will still be,
underneath all her dirt and heartbreak, very beautiful, if only
the right person would reach out to her. This Mary Sue begs for
pity. She is designed to tug on the heartstrings of the other
characters so that they will approach her, work really hard to
pull her out of her jaded, reclusive existence, and elevate her
to a higher status. She fulfills the need of her creators to
have other people "save" them and make them feel loved.[/font]
[font=segoe ui]3. Belligerent Mary Sue[/font]
[font=segoe ui]Just like all great warrior princesses, the
Belligerent Mary Sue is tougher that anyone else, she has
unmatched (and often unexplained) fighting skills, and she has
an extreme "won't take crap from anyone," attitude. She can
immediately defeat any adversary single handed. She's often well
muscled and athletic, but even if she is petite, she can still
inexplicably beat the crap out of any other character; she never
loses any in-game encounter she is a part of. She has a tough
exterior, she flaunts authority, she doesn't make friends
easily, and she doesn't care about anyone, knowing that she can
only depend on herself. Other characters must really, really
work hard to befriend her. This Mary Sue is the epitome of
overly done independence. She is our need to lash out against
social convention and the ties that bind us.[/font]
[font=segoe ui]4. "Floozy" Mary Sue[/font]
[font=segoe ui]Like her Classic cousin, this Mary Sue has a wide
range of superior skills, but they are specific to the ability
to attract the opposite sex. Her physical description exudes
sensuality, and she is never without her ample bosom, full and
pouting lips, entrancing catlike eyes and long lashes, red mane
of tousled curls, or voluptuous figure and hip-swaying walk.
This Mary Sue can seduce any man, she gets anything she wants
just by flirting, and all other woman generally hate her. Her
morals are very loose, and she may skirt the border of being
considered an "evil" character. This Mary Sue attempts to
attract the attention of every male character in the game, and
her player is often very disappointed if she doesn't.[/font]
[font=segoe ui]5. Copy Cat Mary Sue[/font]
[font=segoe ui]Copy Cat Mary is most easily spotted in fandom
games, especially by those who know the fandom very well. She is
basically the description, history, personality, and destiny of
one of the well-known cannon characters, only with a different
name and some minor adjustments. She's also usually related to
an already famous character in a way that would be impossible,
based on the canon material. In Harry Potter games, she might be
Harry's long lost twin sister who also bears a scar on her
forehead from the night Voldemort killed their parents. In Star
Wars, she's Luke and Leia's younger sibling who was hidden away
from the Emperor and trained on a remote planet by one of the
last Jedi Masters, destined to lead the Rebellion after Darth
Vader killed his mentor. Duplicating a Cannon Character or
closely relating your character to one is often viewed, at best,
as unimaginative, and at worst, as an attempt to make your
character more important than she would be if relying on her own
merit.[/font]
[font=segoe ui]6. Transplant Mary Sue[/font]
[font=segoe ui]Transplant Mary is similar to Copy Cat Mary in
that she is some modification of a well-known canon character
from a particular fandom. The difference is that the character
is passed off as an original character in either an original
game she has no business being in or in a non-crossover, canon
game of a completely different fandom. For example, some players
attempt to use "Buffy Summers" from the BTVS fandom in anything
from Star Trek to Twilight games. While some legitimately
original characters might be inspired by a favorite canon
character, Transplants have several characteristics that are
very obviously taken straight from the canon character. Most
commonly, these characteristics include: Name, Physical
Description, Personality, Background (often modified to fit the
game), Occupation, Family Members, and Celebrity "Play By"
Image. One or two similarities, alone, does not mark a character
as a Transplant Sue, but in combination, several of these
"borrowed" traits can be very obvious to someone familiar with
the canon character. A sub-species of the Transplant Mary is the
Transplant Celebrity Mary Sue, for whom many traits are clearly
based on those of a popular celebrity or are a Hodge-podge of
television and movie characters the celebrity has
portrayed.[/font]
[font=segoe ui]7. Inside Mary Sue[/font]
[font=segoe ui]Some Mary Sues are "inside jobs," meaning a
player (usually the game's owner) creates a new Race or Species
for use as PCs and gives a detailed description, including all
of the things the race can do and all of the things they
definitely cannot. Then, the creator turns around and
immediately introduces a new character of that race who happens
to be the exception to the rules. The logical progression is
that the creator is not satisfied by any of the currently
existing races and, therefore, needs the added specialness of
his/her character being an entirely new species. Because they
created the species, they're now presented with the danger that
a new player will create a new character of the same species,
thus, reducing the original character's specialness. The
solution is for the creator to "build in" a rule for the species
that, as it happens, doesn't apply to their character for some
strange and rare reason (and which would be unlikely to have
occurred to other subsequent characters created from the same
species). This preserves the character's "uniqueness" no matter
how many new characters are created of the same species. The
character is now special because it is of a previously
non-existent species (and the only member of that species upon
entrance into the game) and because it is, remarkably, also an
exception to its own species' characteristics. This two-fold
specialness actually makes it a Double-Layered Mary Sue--it's a
Mary Sue with a fail-safe, backup system.
[/font]
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